Senator plans to kill her organ donor bill

A state lawmaker plans to kill her organ donor bill, saying she doesn’t have the votes to get it out of committee and the reaction to it has been so negative.

Under the proposal by Sen. Lucia Guzman, D-Denver, anyone with a Colorado driver’s license or ID card is presumed to be an organ donor unless the person initials a statement opting out of the program. Currently, a person must initial their ID card to be considered a donor.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there and people are scared and upset. It’s just causing too much fear,” she said.

“I feel sad about it because on one hand there was so much support for it, so much need for it. The whole goal was to save lives, but people are not well with it.”

The Donor Alliance opposed the measure, fearing it would have the opposite impact of adding more Coloradans to the donor list.

At this time, 1,968 Coloradans are awaiting organ transplants.

Sue Dunn, president and chief executive officer of Donor Alliance, the non-profit that facilitates organ donation in Colorado and Wyoming, said her group opposed the bill, although not necessarily the idea of an opt-out donation scenario.

“We really feel this concept hasn’t been vetted in the broader community,” she told the Denver Post’s Alicia Caldwell.

Dunn would have preferred a conversation about the idea to have first transpired among people with legal, ethical and medical backgrounds. Religious communities should have been involved, as well as representatives from transplant centers, donor hospitals and the general public, including organ donors and those waiting for transplants.

The Donor Alliance was concerned that the dialogue surrounding Senate Bill 42 would create a backlash. By way of example, she said the voluntary donor registry got an unusually high number of people calling to take themselves off the list when news of the bill broke.

As it stands, Colorado has notably high numbers of people who voluntarily agree in advance to be an organ donor when the time comes. Sixty-six percent of Coloradans who get drivers licenses and state identification cards opt to be organ donors. It is the highest rate in the country, Dunn said.

The House sponsor of the bill, Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, said he was proud to have helped bring awareness to organ donation.

“The introduction of this bill helped bring important dialogue about the need for more donors to participate in the Colorado donor program,” he said.

“This bill was a sincere attempt to make the process easier for the 90 percent of people who support organ donation.”

Guess it isn’t enough for the Democrats to just suck your blood. Now they want your heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, eyes, bones etc. I’ve had my drivers license listed as a donor for as long as I can remember, but if this had passed I would have opted out. What stupidity! What arrogance!

Dwyert

The real stupidity and arrogance is letting politics determine your willingness to save someone’s life.

Arrogance? Arrogance? Are you kidding me? This would have shown that there is a basic level of decency and compassion in Colorado. This would have shown that Coloradans actually care about their less fortunate brothers and sisters who suffer from debilitating disease and critical illness. This would have shown that we have some modicum of decency. I don’t care whether your a Republican or Democrat or Independent or member of the Cows Progress Party. This legislation was killed by the press in a desire for a sensational headline for more page views and more viewers. People will die because of this and they already have.

Lgothe

This bill would have provided organs to people regardless of political party. Also – you’re upset about making it easier for people to be on the donor list, so you’d opt out? Hard to see the logic.

Eyes_west

Guess it isn’t enough for the Democrats to just suck your blood. Now they want your heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, eyes, bones etc. I’ve had my drivers license listed as a donor for as long as I can remember, but if this had passed I would have opted out. What stupidity! What arrogance!

Dwyert

The real stupidity and arrogance is letting politics determine your willingness to save someone’s life.

Arrogance? Arrogance? Are you kidding me? This would have shown that there is a basic level of decency and compassion in Colorado. This would have shown that Coloradans actually care about their less fortunate brothers and sisters who suffer from debilitating disease and critical illness. This would have shown that we have some modicum of decency. I don’t care whether your a Republican or Democrat or Independent or member of the Cows Progress Party. This legislation was killed by the press in a desire for a sensational headline for more page views and more viewers. People will die because of this and they already have.

Lgothe

This bill would have provided organs to people regardless of political party. Also – you’re upset about making it easier for people to be on the donor list, so you’d opt out? Hard to see the logic.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.